A pilot event for a Tusculum College program entitled “Explorations in Thought” was held Jan. 11-12 at the Roan Mountain Bed and Breakfast at Roan Mountain, Tenn.

A group of faculty, staff and alumni, along with a member of the college’s Board of Trustees, joined to explore and discuss the theme “Heroism: the Persistence of the Human Spirit.” This was done through a common reading of Timothy Egan’s “The Worst Hard Time,” a book chronicling the struggles of Depression-era Americans who faced the “Dust Bowl,” the worst environmental disaster in American history.

They also watched films with a similar focus on heroism: “Hotel Rwanda” and a film concerning Dr. Jeri Nielsen’s struggle to treat her own breast cancer while she was stationed at the South Pole.

Participants also engaged in activities to foster further discussion of how to develop and honor heroes in the classroom and community as part of Tusculum College’s focus on the Civic Arts.

“This was a successful event, helping to develop campus community,” said one participating faculty member. “I enjoyed getting to know my colleagues and members of our broader campus community better. I have never considered addressing the issue of heroism before in class, but I am now considering ways to incorporate it into my course this block.”

The concept for “Explorations in Thought” was suggested by Interim President Dr. Russell Nichols.

The Friday evening alumni dinner at the General Morgan Inn will include honoring the individuals who are being inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of Tusculum College.

Please note that class photos will be taken at Saturday afternoon’s tailgate party rather than the Friday evening dinner as has been the practice for the last several years.

The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $30 per person. A cash bar will be available throughout the evening.

The Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1981 by the Executive Board of the Tusculum College Alumni Association to bestow recognition on those individuals who have excelled in their Tusculum College athletic program(s). The following are the members of the Sports Hall of Fame (charter members are listed in bold):

Meet new President Dr. Nancy B. Moody and her husband, Tom, in a relaxed setting during an afternoon tea at the President’s House.

The afternoon tea has been a time of reminiscing between alumni. Come share your stories of life at Tusculum as other alumni share their treasured memories of the College. You never know … you may even hear a few stories about the stealing of the bell!

Myron J. “Jack” Smith, Jr., professor of library science/history and director of the Thomas J. Garland Library, will offer an illustrated talk on the history of the McCormick Hall bell in Library Rm. 206 at 1:30 p.m. All alumni, students, faculty, and staff are invited to this free event.

According to a story by “Daddy” Haynes in the 1942 college yearbook, the bell now housed in the tower came to Tusculum in 1890 as payment in kind for student tuitions. Over the years, the bell has been rung to call the community to various events, to note the achievement of significant milestones or just to hear its rich sounds. Smith will profile the exciting history behind the 400-pound brass bell.

At Tusculum since 1990, Professor Smith is the author of 80 books, including five on the Civil War. He authored the bicentennial college history Glimpses of Tusculum with Professor Emeritus Donal Sexton in 1994. Several of his latest titles are available for purchase at the College bookstore.

Alumni are invited to come and discover who is the best chili cook on campus. It will be the second year of the competition and if the first year is any indication, there will be lots of great chili to sample and a hard decision to make to pick the best one.

Last year, departments all over campus were involved in the cook-off, which was more than just a line of crock pots with simmering chili. Tables were elaborately decorated and some departments dressed up in matching costumes. The Athletic Department won the title and the trophy, featuring a chili crock. Come and see if Athletics can repeat or another department will take the title of tastiest chili on campus. The event is being sponsored by the Student Alumni Association.

New to the Homecoming schedule this year is a visit to Brights Zoo in Limestone. Alumni from this region or those traveling in the region may have noticed the zoo while driving on Highway 11E between Greeneville and Johnson City.

In 2008, the private, family-owned zoo opened to schools and other special groups to come and learn about the rare and endangered species. The zoo features such animals as addax, bongo and scimitar-horned oryx. The center also contains more common but exotic creatures like red kangaroos, spider monkeys, bactrian camels, pygmy goats, giraffes and zebras.

To learn more about Brights Zoo, visit its Web site. The cost is $15 per individual.

Enjoy autumn in a unique way at Myer’s Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze in Bulls Gap, TN. The visit to the Pumpkin Patch, operated by Vera Ann Myers ’87, has become an increasingly popular event for alumni since it was added a few years ago.

“We weren’t sure what the Pumpkin Patch trip would be, but were pleasantly surprised at the wealth of information on farming and farm families in Greene County that we were given,” Tippy Dell’Aquila Corliss ’58 said of her trip to the Pumpkin Patch last year. “Our hostess was knowledgeable and entertaining. We came away with a better understanding of the hard work and dedication of small family farmers and dairymen. She told us about the many programs they present for the children of the area giving them a better understanding of where the food on their tables comes from. The gift shop had delightful; reasonably priced items including jars of delicious jams. (We brought three!!)”

To learn about Myers Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze, visit its Web site. The cost for the event is $10 per person.

Spend an autumn morning at one of the most scenic golf courses in East Tennessee with its spectacular views of the mountains.

The tournament at Nolichucky View Golf Club will feature a scramble format with the handicap system applied for a net division and a gross division. First place will be awarded for each division. Alumni, spouses, faculty, staff and friends are invited to participate. The shotgun start is 9 a.m.

The fee for participant is $50 and includes a breafast buffet to begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will also be provided as well as beverages and goody bags.

Visit those places so vivid in your memories of Tusculum College and discover what’s new on campus. The tours will be given upon request.

Your guide will be a member of the President’s Society. The President’s Society is a group of elite students dedicated to promoting and fortifying the mission of the College. The students serve as ambassadors to the College, serve as hosts for campus visits, participate in leadership and ethics training and assist with campus events.

In addition to their duties as ambassadors and hosts for the College, the 12 members receive college credit for the training courses they are required to attend. These courses include leadership skills, ethics, communication skills and business etiquette programs. The students also participate in a team-building and goal-setting retreat and take a learning trip to explore business, government or a cultural aspect of an area. Learn more about the President’s Society.

Learn how to protect your “Tusculum Treasures.” The Museums of Tusculum College will offer special presentations at the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library (Old College) to help alumni learn who to care for their Tusculum treasures in their own home.

Myers Brown, curator of extension services at the Tennessee State Museum, will give two 30-minute presentations on the care of clothing, memorabilia and decorative arts during the morning. In the afternoon, Amy Collins, archivist at East Tennessee State University’s Archives of Appalachia, will give two 30-minute presentations on the care of paper, photographs and films. Do-it-yourself boxes of archival supplies will be available to alumni to take home.

The presentations will alternate with 30-minute screenings of historic films of Tusculum College campus life in the 1920s-70s. The films were unreadable a year ago and represent an on-going process to migrate antiquated media onto new media. The first film, college scenes of 1930, will be shown at 9 a.m. and college scenes from 1940-42 will be shown at 10:30 a.m.

In the afternoon, a film featuring college scenes from 1940, 1948-1952 May Day activities and basketball from 1950 will be shown at 1 p.m., and at 2:30 p.m., the film will feature Tusculum College students/fire department in 1970, scenes from the play, “Blazing the Trail from 1969, and scenes from the Heritage Trust Christmas Tour of Homes in 1970.

The final film, to be shown at 4 pm., will feature campus scenes from 1929-30 and May Day activities in 1948 and 1951.
October is National Archives Month, and will be commemorated by the museum with the “Preserving Your Traditions” exhibit. The display will describe what constitutes an archive and will provide information on how individuals can care for personal collections.

The exhibit will feature hands-on items like records, books, photographs and other material maintained in the Tusculum College Archives. Trophies, photographs, scrapbooks and documents will reveal campus life of a by-gone era and testify that alumni, students, faculty and staff are long remembered for their contributions to campus. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to handle objects spanning the past 100 years of Tusculum history. By wearing the prerequisite white gloves of an archivist and handling the objects, visitors will learn about the results of improper storage and enhance their appreciation of historic items.

The life and good work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was celebrated during a remembrance ceremony held in the living room area of the Niswonger Commons on January 24th. The ceremony was sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and was part of a week-long series of special events planned around Dr. King’s birthday.

The Rev. Dr. Stephen Weisz opened the ceremony with a prayer and a song. Beth Chamberlain provided an inspired version of the song “Lift Ever’y Voice and Sing” with piano accompaniment by Jim Winfree. Students in the Religious Life Program also read a Litany of the occasion of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday.

Dr. Weisz closed the remembrance ceremony with a short prayer, and then invited the attendees to remain for refreshments and fellowship after the ceremony.